See My Asterisk Quilt in Quiltmaker!

Keep an eye out for the new May/June issue of Quiltmaker...but here's a sneek peek of one of my favorite quilts!

I'm really excited to tell you about this quilt. This year I designed the Blocks of the Month for my guild, Empire Quilters in New York City. This was the block that we kicked off the year with in September. I called it "Candy Stick," but I like Quiltmaker's name better, "Asterisk."

My challenge was to design a block that looks difficult, but is actually easy and fun to make. Those are my favorites. It also had to work as a scrappy quilt and have wide appeal. Many quilters participated and we had a great time. (I made this quilt in advance to show the guild how it would look, and it's one of my favorites. I like how Quiltmaker photographed it too.)

The Empire Quilters Block of the Month can be seen at: http://www.empirebom.blogspot.com/.

Selvage Needle Case from Brenda

Brenda from the "Scraps and Strings" blog in Manitoba, Canada surprised me with a gift of a selvage needle case! The cheddar felt pages are attached like the pages in a book so you can put things in the pockets in the cover. Didn't she do a nice job? Thank you, Brenda!

If you follow Brenda's blog, you'll remember that she sewed lots of selvages together creating a large piece of "new fabric" and she used it to make several items. I like how she put the selvages so close together. Selvages get used up fast when you focus just on the windows, but it does look cool. :)

Take a look at Brenda's blog: http://www.scrapsandstrings.blogspot.com/. She just finished a spider web that you have to see. Thanks again, Brenda!

Meet Georgina from Argentina!

Georgina is an Argentinian living in Qatatr in the Middle East. She's reading a book now that belonged to her mother when she was a university student. To protect this precious book, Georgina made a selvage book envelope. What beautiful soft colors, and that button is perfect! You can see more beautiful photos of this project and others on her blog: http://www.eltallerdegeorgina.blogspot.com/.

Georgina is a member of the Qatar Quilt Guild. Visit their blog: http://www.qatarquiltguild.blogspot.com/. Looks like fun.

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The Japanese fabrics used in this project are Lecien and Yuwa. I found a website where you can see them. Simply type these words in the Search box at http://www.thequiltedcastle.com/. Very nice.

Jill's New Selvage Tote

Jill Bunis from New Jersey (Cre8fmomquilts) is the maker of the selvage cornices, the upholstered club chair, and more. Now she's whipped up a tote bag to bring to the quilt show in Lancaster, PA. I like the wide color stripes in this bag. You can see in-progress photos on her blog: http://www.cre8fmomquilts.blogspot.com/. Nice job, Jill!

In today's post Jill tells about meeting fellow selvage quilters at the show as a result of carrying her new tote!

Selvage Quilt by Anya of Pennsylvania

Anya of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania just finished this selvage quilt. She used the quilt-as-you-go method, and she doesn't recommend it. "Too many issues" she says. I'll take her word for it.

Another interesting fact is that she used the selvages from 72 yards of fabric to make this quilt. I had no idea! (Her friends contributed selvages, of course.) Nice job, Anya.

You can read more about this project on her blog: http://www.hillscreekquilter.blogspot.com/

Also see her group blog: www.randomactsofstitching.blogspot.com.

Meet Ann J. from France

Ann J. from France spent International Quilting Day making this selvage pillow. She used the pattern I made for Moda Bake Shop. I like how it came out. Nice soft colors.

See her blog at http://www.enbellefrance.blogspot.com/.

Akiko's Selvage chicken!

Akiko Kunst of Massachusetts made this selvage chicken! Isn'st he cute? She is making them for her guild's quilt show boutique. The show will be on July 24-25 at Tantasqua Regional High School in Sturbridge, MA. She'd better make tons of these little chicks! They're going to be popular, don't you think? I'd buy one...or more. :)

Selvage Lampshade

Katie from Ocean Grove, Victoria, Australia just finished her first selvage project, a selvage lampshade! She found the tutorial on www.selvagequilts.com and decided to give it a go. That's the spirit! You can see more of her stuff at: www.5starbaby.blogspot.com.

Barb's Screen Selvage Tote

Barb from Rockledge, Florida just finished her first selvage project, a tote bag made with screen material. She's made over 100 screen bags! For this tote, Barbara chose green selvages, and I really like the yoyo's and the buttons she added to it. Barbara, when you bring that bag to a guild meeting, hold on tight!

Be sure to see Barbara's Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/tinkquilts

Akiko's Whale is in Sew News

When Akiko Kunst made this fantastic selvage whale, I posted about it here, and it's been on the sidebar ever since. Now her whale is about to appear in Sew News magazine! Click here to get the free pattern! www.sewnews.com/articles/Salvaged_Selvages Keep an eye out for the April/May issue which will be out any day now. Congratulations, Akiko!

Meet Mercedes from Spain

Mercedes Jimenez from Madrid, Spain made this beautiful selvage pillow using her new sewing machine that does embroidery stitches. She decided to sample these stitches along the edges of her selvages. What a good idea. Quilters are so clever. Nice job, Mercedes!

See more about this project on her blog: http://www.mercedesinspain.blogspot.com/ (Be sure to scroll down for this post.)

Side Chair Gets Five Dollar Makeover!

This chair was given new life by Mary Beth. It cost her $5 total! She used beautiful Kaffe selvages and I love that purple paint. Didn't she do a fabulous job? Yayyy, Mary Beth!

Thank you to Jackie of www.cvquiltworks.blogspot.com for telling us about this! The Selvage Blog needs lots of field reporters like Jackie and you to find these things! Keep them coming!

Selvage Bag Giveaway!

If this bag looks familiar, that's because you saw it featured in Down Under Quilts, issue 139. (If you don't live "down under," you can get some of this magazine free online.) Quilter Linda Robertus of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is having a giveaway to celebrate the new look of her blog. Winner announced on March 23rd, so visit her new blog and take a chance. Her blog is: http://www.q-linda.blogspot.com/. Tell her Karen said hello.

Jill's New Selvage Chair!

WOW! Jill from New Jersey just finished her selvage chair! Isn't this amazing? She put it in the same room with the selvage cornices. Jill has some excellent photos showing how she upholstered this chair. See her blog at: http://www.cre8fmomquilts.blogspot.com/. She's giving away selvages today to celebrate finishing the chair and help others get started.
Great job, Jill!

Happy St. Patty's Day! I hope you're wearin' the green.

Or having a wee mug of green beer!

C V Quiltworks Podcast and Book Giveaway

Yesterday Jackie Kunkel (of Canton Village Quiltworks) and I did a podcast about selvage quilting! Her free podcasts are called "Jackie's Quilting Chronicles" and can be heard on her website or on iTunes.

Jackie and I are having a Giveaway of two autographed copies of "Quilts from the Selvage Edge." Visit her blog to hear the podcast and enter the Giveaway: http://www.cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/. The winners will be announced March 23. Good luck!

BTW, Jackie quilts customer's quilt tops, and she has an online fabric store and an Etsy store...she is one busy lady and lots of fun!

Spider Web Quilt is Quilted, Wow!

You'll remember that Jacquie of Kansas City recently finished her selvage spider web quilt top. She had it quilted by Angela Walters, and it is a masterpiece! I love this quilt! You can see more detail photos of this quilt on Jacquie's blog: http://www.tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/

Wonderful job, Jacquie and Angela! You are making selvage quilt history!

Meet Winnie the Selvage Bear

Is this a wonderful selvage bear or what? Abby from the UK http://www.bubsbears.com/ made him using selvages given to her by friends and blog readers from the UK and the US. His name is Winnie. She wants to make more, but now she's swamped with orders for her patchwork bears. Well, no wonder! Great work, Abby!

Visit Abby's blog at: http://www.mutteringsfromthemoor.wordpress.com/.

Brenda's Dotted Selvage Quilt

Brenda of Scraps and Strings in Manitoba, Canada (www.scrapsandstrings.blogspot.com) made this mini selvage quilt full of dots and color windows for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, organized by Ami Simms. She hand quilted it with swirl designs. Nice job, Brenda!

Meet Martha in the UK

Martha is originally from Baltimore, MD but now she lives in the UK with her husband and six kids. They recently celebrated her son's 10th birthday with an outer space theme party; you have to see the photos! She made a table runner with selvages. She was even able to "sign" the runner (see photo above). Martha specializes in machine quilting, and she quilted this piece with glow-in-the-dark thread. What a cool Mom.

Their daughter is considering a college in Cambridge, and Martha included some great photos of their trip there. You will really enjoy her blog: http://www.machinequilter.blogspot.com/.

Another Selvage Skirt!

Kimbuktu of New York just made this selvage skirt for her little granddaughter. Isn't it pretty? The belt was made with Moda bias tape. Wouldn't it be nice to see these selvage skirts modeled by their owners?

Kimbuktu creates lots of beautiful items for sale. See http://www.fabricfascination.blogspot.com/. And her website: www.kimbuktu.net.

New Quilt Book by Linda Baxter Lasco

Are you familiar with the "New Quilts from an Old Favorite" contest held each year by The National Quilt Museum? They challenge quilters to use a traditional quilt block in an innovative way. The best 18 quilts are chosen for an exhibit, and a book by Linda Baxter Lasco. The block for 2010 is the Sunflower, and the book will be out soon, in time for the AQS show in Paducah April 21-24. I can't wait to see Linda's book. She does a fabulous job. Each quilter tells about making her quilt and there are some methods illustrated too.

The block for 2011 will be Orange Peel; quilts due November 2010. Or you can plan ahead for 2012 when the theme will be Baskets. For contest details see http://www.quiltmuseum.org/ To order the book shown above, visit: http://www.americanquilter.com/.

New Kaffe Fassett Book

Has anyone seen the new Kaffe book yet? Judging this book by its cover, I think I may have to buy this one. I'm curious about the quilts in the lower-left and the lower right. I wonder if he makes those little fans the way I do (see: www.empirebom.blogspot.com to see the Feb.2010 block). The one with the black wheels...I can't imagine. Applique? Embroidery?

I've heard this book is in the stores. Tell me what you think.

Meet Patrizia Rossini of Rome!

Patrizia Rossini of Rome, Italy made these beautiful bags using selvages. The top photo is a bag made from the selvages of Japanese fabrics, and the bottom photo is a bag made from African fabrics! What soft, warm earth colors.

Weaving the selvages is such a creative idea. And the sturdy selvage makes a strong bag.

Brava, Patrizia!

Japanese Selvages

Here's an example of how Japanese fabric manufacturers make their selvages more interesting. I hope other manufacturers follow their example and make their selvages prettier too. Then our current selvage quilts will look like antiques!

Years ago selvages were very plain, just the company name in a "typewriter" Pica or Elite font. Remember that? Older fabrics don't have anything written on the selvage at all.

Hand Stitched Selvage Pillow

Janet in Knoxville, Tennessee just finished this pretty selvage pillow. She likes to do handwork, so she sewed all the selvages onto the foundation using Pearle cotton #8 and big stitches! You can see the running stitches if you take a close look, or hold the Control button and press "+" to magnify. On the back side she used a navy blue flannel. Nice job, Janet!

Now she's making a selvage tumbler quilt (using batiks in the non-selvage areas). And this will also be hand stitched! Can't wait to see that! I asked her to send us a photo. :)

Selvage Ski Outfit

No, just kidding. But doesn't it look like a selvage outfit? Seriously. I like the suit even if it's just fake selvages. I really enjoyed watching the Olympics (on TV, that is). Truly amazing!

Winners Announced!

Drumroll, please! Here are the 3 winners in the "Lessons From Elephants" fabric giveaway!

1. Kathie from the US, blog: http://www.inspiredbyantiquequilts.blogspot.com/
2. Kathleen C. from Connecticut
3. Janet from the Yukon Territory, Canada

Let me know if you prefer a Charm Pack or Selvages, and I'll get these prizes in the mail.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

The photo above is for illustration only, from bing.com.

New excuse for being late.

"We were on our way, but we get stopped by an elephant!"

I'm just wondering: who took the photo? And what happened next?

I get scared when a dog runs up to my car!

Have you visited the "Lessons from Elephants" blog and entered to win a charm pack or selvages? See yesterday's post. Winners announced tomorrow.
Until then, we're just sittin' here.

Did you bring your knitting?

Lessons from Elephants! (Fabric Giveaway)

"Lessons from Elephants" is a dynamic new blog by fashion aficionado Molly Bryn of Boston. You'll enjoy seeing the world through Molly's eyes. This photo is one of my favorites.

Enter to win a Charm Pack or Selvages (winner's choice):

1. Visit http://www.lessonsfromelephants.blogspot.com/ and sign up to Follow.
2. Then come back here and enter a Comment for a random drawing.
3. Three winners will be announced Thursday March 4. Good luck!

I Need Ideas!

I need a real good theme for a Quilt Challenge. Something that will appeal to a lot of quilters. Maybe selvages, maybe not.

In this brainstorming phase, don't reject any ideas. You know how one idea leads to the next and we spur each other on! Thanks.

Elephantastico from Heather Bailey

Happy first day of March! Spring is on the way!

We're going to focus on elephants for a few days at the Selvage Blog.

First off is Heather Bailey's new elephant pin cushion pattern. You can see lots of colorful and creative ideas from Heather at http://www.heatherbailey.typepad.com/.

I love her new fabrics.